


time lapse

by nanajms



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 05:17:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15623385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanajms/pseuds/nanajms
Summary: soulmate au in which jaemin comes to jeno to have his soulmate clock removed- and jeno is heartbroken over it.





	time lapse

**Author's Note:**

> i don't really know why i wrote this, please don't hate me for this. my first fic here so it may suck >.<
> 
> a LOT of angst ahead

 

your soulmate clock will countdown the days until you meet your soulmate. once you finally meet them, your clock shows 00:00:00 and stays like that forever. but there are people who aren't so lucky. people whose clocks are tainted red once their soulmate has died, or the one's that have their clocks crossed out as a reminder that their soulmate has decided to cut them off by removing their soulmate clock. that was jeno’s job. he was the one that removed other people’s clocks, maybe ruining a few people’s hopes and dreams along the way.

time was unstoppable. despite his line of work, jeno understood that. time doesn't stop for anyone, it doesn't wait politely as you cross the street and it doesn't yell "good day ma'am" at you as it passes by. no, time is ruthless, it will break you if it must. it was jeno that people sought out when time broke them.

 

most people that came to him had already made up their minds ages before. there were people who simply hated the system. they hated the idea of fate deciding who their soulmate was and when they should meet them. others came to him with broken hearts, their wrists flashing red; a sign that their soulmate was no longer in this world with them. they came to him to remove those reminders of their cruel fate, to erase their past and hopefully their memories of their soulmate as well.

 

jeno didn't hate the system. he was confused by it sure but hating it? it seemed hard to hate something that promised him someone who he can spend the rest of his life with. but then again, he understood why the people who came to him chose to have their soulmate clocks removed. he never forgets to smile and reassure the person he was working on. he understood why they do it, but it wasn't how he thought of things. he would never give up his soulmate clock he was sure of that.

 

the day the boy had come into his shop he had been busy making a sign to leave outside of it ("get your soulmate clocks fixed or removed here! prices are negotiable"). he didn't look up even when the boy had stopped right in front of the counter.

 

"i want to get my soulmate clock removed." the boy's voice didn't waver. this was someone who had long since made up his mind, jeno thought as he wearily lifted up his head from his work. as soon as his eyes met the boy's he became speechless. in front of him was the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. he didn't realize he was gaping until the boy snapped his fingers in front of him, repeating what he had just said.

 

"hello? i said i wanted to get my clock removed."

 

jeno shook himself out of it, cursing at himself for being so unprofessional. why was he staring at his customers like a lovesick puppy?

 

"right this way." he said, motioning towards the back door. the boy followed him, with no hesitance at all.

 

"why do you want to get your clock removed?" jeno asked as he lead the boy towards a chair that looked quite a lot like the ones at a dentist’s office. the boy jumped on it, settling down comfortably.

 

"cause i hate the system of course. fate isn't going to get to decide who i should end up with and when. i can do that for myself." the boy clenched his jaw, his mouth set into a firm line. he was determined, jeno could see that.

 

"well make yourself comfortable then. this will take a few minutes. I’m jeno by the way." he said, extending a hand for the boy to shake.

 

"I’m jaemin." the boy- jaemin accepted his hand, shaking it once before letting go.

 

jeno refused to admit that he could feel his hand tingling where jaemin's fingers had touched his.

 

_what was happening to him?_

 

he shook of the weird feeling, trying to push away the new feelings and thoughts he was having. he had a job to do.

 

"give me your hand." he ordered, preparing his materials beside the chair. wordlessly jaemin gave him his hand, flipping it upside down so that his wrist was visible. he looked away as he did so, not wanting to see the clock that never stopped counting down the time on his wrist.

 

until today.

 

_00:00:00_

 

jeno couldn't hear anything besides his racing heart. he felt as if his heart was ready to jump to his throat and he was almost dizzy. but not from the excitement that he thought he would feel once he did meet his soulmate, no, it was from fear.

 

please don't let this be it, please don't let it happen this way, he silently begged to whoever was listening up there (if anyone was). slowly he peeked at the clock on his wrists that had been counting down the days just a few hours ago.

 

_00:00:00_

_and_

_his_

_heart_

_stopped._

 

he cleared his throat, trying to compose himself. "are you sure this is what you want? your soulmate's clock will stop too if you do this." he found himself saying. he had never tried to change a customer's mind.

 

then again, this was no regular customer.

 

"i'm sure. they can't despair over someone they have never met anyways."

 

_but i have met you._

 

jeno didn't reply. instead, he silently reached for his tools, rubbing circles onto the clock his soulmate's wrist as he prepared to get to work.

 

jaemin flinched when jeno first started but he relaxed when he realized it didn't hurt. but for jeno, it did hurt. it burnt his skin where his own clock was and he did his best to stop his hands from shaking. he almost cried out from the pain but reminded himself that he couldn't. jaemin didn't look his way. jaemin never noticed the pain that jeno was in.

 

a few minutes was all it took but for jeno, it felt like it had been days. time was playing tricks on him again.

 

"you're done." he said quietly, letting go off jaemin's now blank wrist, his own hands still shaking.

 

jaemin glanced down at his wrist in wonder, marveling at how jeno had managed to get rid of it as if erasing away a picture on his skin that jaemin had always detested.

 

"thank you jeno!" he gave a bright smile and jeno could feel his heart break at the sight.

 

he forced a smile on his face, hiding his hands behind his back so jaemin wouldn't notice how much it was shaking. "you're welcome. it's my job after all."

 

he had never hated his job until now.

 

"how much do i owe you?" jaemin asked, taking out his wallet from his back pocket.

 

jeno shook his head. "no don't worry about that. it's on the house."

 

"are you sure?" jaemin asked incredulously.

 

"yes i am. i should be closing up shop now anyways."

 

jaemin beamed at jeno. "thank you again. i'll be leaving then. good bye" he excused himself and left, the bell on the shop door ringing way too loudly in jeno's ears.

 

"good bye." jeno whispered, eyes clouded over, staring at the spot where jaemin had just been. his hands rubbed over the spot on his wrist where his soulmate clock was. he looked down knowing exactly what he would see.

 

his clock still showed 00:00:00 but it was crossed out. his soulmate had cut him off.

 

no, he had cut himself off. how ironic.

 

he wished he could say that in that moment it felt like time had stopped but he couldn't say that. time doesn't stop for anyone and it didn't stop for jeno as he broke down in the middle of his shop. time kept moving and flowing and along with it, it took the people who still had soulmate's, who were happy and in love. their lives moved on while jeno was left behind, stuck in this world all alone.

 

time was way too cruel.

**Author's Note:**

> that wasn't so bad HAHAHA. 
> 
> if you have any thoughts then comment below or send them to my cc (curiouscat.me/ohyouarenana)
> 
> thank you for reading! hopefully i'll improve soon ^^


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